Rating: *** Suggested Age: 13

This series is rather unappreciated and I'm beginning to understand why. The first book, Article 5, was actually fairly good, but Breaking Point is the usual, boring, cliche-filled dystopian novel. Ember, the main character, isn't a very strong person and is rather annoying at times. I found the majority of the parts boring and confusing. Article 5 was so much better and kept me on the edge of my seat. Breaking Point didn't seem to move the plot forward and lacked the excitement I needed. As for the cliches? The "bad guys" are reminiscent of pretty much every dystopian government that exists in the young adult fiction world. There is a lack of creativity in this series and that is why I will not be picking up the next book.

With that said, I did enjoy a few parts of the book, earning in three stars. I liked Sean (a secondary character) because he seems to genuinely care for the other characters. He's a good friend and he just seems like such a well-rounded person. Part of me wishes that the book was from his perspective or that he was the love-interest. Sadly, that's not the case and it wouldn't work well anyway. I also appreciated some of the scenes. About 3/4s of the way through the book, I was mildly captivated and I read the rest in a day.

I think it is books like these, the cliches, that are ruining the dystopian genre for me. It's overdone and it doesn't have enough creativity anymore.

-Book Hugger